Inside of Traco building as it is now.Howden Ganley recently took these photos at about the exact same location Gary Knutson was standing in the picture of him working on the Indy Ford engine in the day. The building is now a recording studio, the owners saw Howden outside taking pictures of the old place and they invited Howden to come in and take some.

Traco and Nairn's as seen from the alley.These buildings still look the same after 50 years. Jim Nairn did all the machine work on the Indy Ford when Gary Knutson and Howden Ganley and Wally Willmott were trying to make it into a Formula One engine. Nairn's mill was also used for hours of Valve spring testing.Next door to Traco was a small diner called Helen's and it had a counter with small round stools around it and the guys would go there for lunch.

View of the front of Traco and Nairn's buildingNext to the light post is Nairn's and the building that is to the left was Traco, It is the brick building with the big window. Helen's was in the building to the left of Traco where the Palm type bushes are.

Jim Travers and Frank Coon are in the middle of the Scarab sportscar. Looking at the fuel tank are Phil Remington and Harold Daigh, also in the picture are Emil Deidt the body man at the back of the car and Dick Troutman is in the doorway. The guy in the long shirt is Marshall Whitfield and in the suit is engine builder Leo Goosen and Sonny Balcaen is at the front of the car.

Traco Engineering was formed around 1957 by Jim Travers, known as Crabby and Frank Coon. They were the crew for Bill Vukovich's Indy effort. Some of their customers were Lance Reventlow and Roger Penske and Bruce McLaren and Carl Haas and Jerry Hansen to name a few. They also made engines for Charlie Hayes and Chuck Parsons and Augie Pabst and Graham Hill and Moises Solana and Roy Woods racing and Mecom Racing. At one time in the 60's everyone wanted to run a Traco engine.

Bruce McLaren sent his crew to Traco in the day to try and develope the Indy type Ford 4 cam motor into a viable Formula One motor.

photo Warren Olson collection

Jim Travers on the starter at Indy for Vukie.At the back of the car Stu Hilborn and Frank Coon and sitting on the wall Jim Nairn.Some of the other engine builders who got their start at Traco were Al Bartz and George Bolthoff.

Wesley Sweet and Sheri Sweet with their new Toy.Wesley and Sheri hope to take their motorhome to Texas over the Thanksgiving Holidays and they are planning on seeing Kathy and Franz Weis on this trip.That innocent looking thing in Wesley's arms is an attack dog they are training. Wiggles, Wesley and Sheri's beautiful wirehaired Dachshund loves riding in the motorhome.

Kirby Guyer on the right.Kirby Guyer was the office manager at Traco in the day. She was the only women in this male dominated business.Kirby also was the Team manager and PR person for Moises Solana and his USRRC effort in California in 1968. As far as I can remember Kirby Guyer was the only women to be in charge of any USRRC racing effort. She came up with what I thought were very good ideas. She painted Moises McLaren Mk 6 Gold. And named the team Aztec Racing.

Kirby Guyer performing the Hula.Kirby Guyer has lived in Hawaii for 30 years . Kirby and her husband Toby have a beautiful Bed and Breakfast called:Hale Ho'o Maha B&B - It is located on Hanalei, Kauai. Hawaii If you are ever looking for a great spot to vacation call: 800- 851-0291 Toll Free Kirby has a website showing her Bed and Breakfast - www.aloha.net/~hoomaha

1966 St. Jovite, Canada - Tyler Alexander and Gary Knutson with Bruce McLaren on pre grid.The Lola in front is John Surtees car, that is his main man Malcolm Malone along side him. Stirling Moss is behind Bruce McLaren's car with his jacket over his shoulder.Race won by John Surtees.

Originally posted by Jerry Entin Gary Knutson with Doug Cimino's 32 Ford.Gary at 16 has just won the Georgetown Hillclimb. This race was run on a twisty dirt road, similar to Pikes Peak. It was located off the highway between Colorado Springs and Aspen, Colorado.The car was modified with Ardun heads on a Flat Head Ford engine. They also used this car for Drag Racing.

photo found for site Vicki Knutson

Jerry:

The Georgetown Hillclimb was run out of Georgetown, Colorado, an old mining town that (today) lies right along I-70 between Denver and Vail. The event was held only a few times in the early 1950s, until a competitor at another hillclimb (Lookout Mountain) was killed, and the state governor stopped all motorsport events on public roads (a round-the-houses race had been held in Aspen).

Today we lost another competitor in the Georgetown Hillclimb, Otto Werlin. Born in Germany, he was the nephew of Jacob Werlin, who headed Daimler-Benz during WWII. Otto had come over here before the war and enlisted in the US Army, serving as a interpreter in Germany. He once told me how a DB limousine would pick him up for weekend furloughs, mystifying his colleagues. He lived in Georgetown and drove an early 1950s Porsche 356 in the hillclimb but bent a wheel (3-1/2x16).

Otto went on to manage the Loveland Ski Area, just west of Georgetown and retired maybe 10 years ago. Over the years he picked up some fun cars: a 289 Cobra, a Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3, and a de Thomaso Pantera, all of which he drove into his 80s. He was a big supporter of the Shelby American Collection in Boulder, Colorado. He passed away in a Denver hospital this morning. We'll miss him.

Malcolm Malone and John Surtees at St Jovite in 1966Believe it or not this was Team Surtees. Malcolm Malone took care of the car by himself. They would win this race and go on to win the 1966 CanAm Championship. John Surtees would give Malcolm a gold suit he won at the final race at Stardust Raceway in Las Vegas. Malcolm was a one man Team. John Surtees was very lucky to have such a great mechanic.

Kirby Guyer putting Traco sticker on Dan Blocker's Genie.As I said earlier Kirby Guyer was way ahead of her time as far as being a great PR person. Dan Blocker has written Kirby a nice note on this photo.

Originally posted by Jerry Entin Kirby Guyer in her youth.This is what Kirby Guyer looked like when you went to pay your bill at Traco, for some strange reason people didn't mind coming in personally and paying their bill.

Kirby Guyer in Indy Type Lotus.Kirby says this was Jim Clark's car and she thinks it was from 1964, at Indy. Kirby says she had to sneak into the pits. Because women weren't allowed in the pits. Jimmy put the car on the pole. He had a tire failure in the race and was credited with 24th.

Originally posted by Jerry Entin Kirby Guyer in her youth.This is what Kirby Guyer looked like when you went to pay your bill at Traco, for some strange reason people didn't mind coming in personally and paying their bill.

Kathy and Franz Weis and Wesley and Sheri Sweet.This was over the Thanksgiving Holidays when these old friends finally got back together.

Franz Weis injured his small finger in a fall months ago. He didn't do anything about it and in turn it ripped his tendon to that finger. He has just been repaired by a great doctor in San Antonio, Texas and hopes to be back golfing in the near future. Kathy is his nurse.

Kirby also was the Team manager and PR person for Moises Solana and his USRRC effort in California in 1968.
As far as I can remember Kirby Guyer was the only women to be in charge of any USRRC racing effort. She came up with what I thought were very good ideas. She painted Moises McLaren Mk 6 Gold. And named the team Aztec Racing.

Which came first I wonder-certainly the ex Solana Formule Junior Lotus is gold today and I understood it was when he raced it.

Gary Knutson looking over the engine in Bruce's car.This was from Bridgehampton in 1966, that is Teddy Mayer in the front and Wally Willmott at the side.Bruce McLaren finished 3rd in this race. Race won by Dan Gurney

A must see is Pete Lyons new CanAm DVD - Can-Am Thunder.photo Pete Lyons - www.petelyons.com

At Chaparral Cars they had a thing they called the Cannon, Gary Knutson is going to tell about it now:

What follows are my recollections on "Cannonry".
"My first real "cannon" was built at Chaparral Cars using a 20ft length of 4340 thick wall tubing which was threaded for a 1-1/4 pipe plug at one end. I would machine up bronze slugs that were about a 1-1/2 inch diameter and 3 inches long to use as projectiles. Suitable wadding was employed and black powder was used as the propellant. There was a small hole thru the pipe plug to allow a fuse to be inserted. The pipe was supported between the open gate and the adjacent fence at the entranced to the shops. We set up a 1 in thick steel plate against a phone pole that was about 50 feet from the gate area. The cannon was aimed by sighting down the tube. There was a clean hole through the pole after the first shot. The second shot hit the plate and the impact was great enough to cause a dent that was visible on the back side of the plate. Encouraged by these results, the charge was increased. The third shot was spectacular as smoke and flame appeared at both ends of the cannon. Fortunately, we were a reasonable distance from the device. This time, the slug missed everything and the breech was missing from the cannon. Normally, the barrel ended up lying in the driveway after the shot, but this time is stayed in place. We were scratching our heads when Frank Lance, who was Jim Hall's chief mechanic at the time, came storming out of the left hand shop (which was on the breech side). He was visibly upset and had our breech in his hand. The breech had gone through the outer wall of the building (two layers of sheet metal with styrofoam in between), through a double inner room wall and had impacted a fluorescent fixture in the ceiling above where Frank had been working. The holes were repaired with sheet metal and pop rivets and the dented fixture is probably still there today. Needless to say, that was the end of the Chaparral Cannon tests."

Aero426: The first Scarab was built in Warren Olson's shop, which was on Robertson Blvd. They then moved into the building that was to be known as Nairn's. I got this information from a very good source, Warren Olson.

Dean, because of Jerry and his terrific Gary Knutson post I recently contacted Gary thru Jerry. Gary brought me up to date with his latest project which is a design he did for a light sport plane opposed 4 cylinder engine. It uses electronic ignition and fuel injection. Projected horsepower is approx. 100 @ 2700 RPM. Not exactly a CanAm motor. He did state that it must be reliable and well made for the intended use. regards, Tom

Osca 2 Liter carThis car was brought to Colorado by Chuck Hall. Gary Knutson and Jerry Mallett replaced the stock 2 liter engine with a Fuel Injected V8 Chevy. And to make sure they had enough kick, Gary Knutson installed a McCulloch Supercharger. They now call them Paxton Superchargers.

Here is the engine compartment showing the supercharger on the fuel injected Chevy engine.

great old racing stories!it was so surprising to see the old pictures of the OSCA in its former racing outfit.i am currently restoring the car.does anybody know,which race the startnumber on the pic refers to?are there maybe some more information and pictures around?

Terrific thread on Gary, Jerry! Thanks for sharing the stories and the great, rare photos, particularly of the original version of the Chaparral.

Also enjoyed the photos of the old Traco shop. When I first moved to LA in the mid 70's I used to see the sign from the 405 freeway but never bothered to stop by and have a look. Not far from there is one of Isky's old shops with his sign still painted on the side of the building.

Your story about Malcolm Malone and Surtees was very intreging--I had no idea it was just the two of them running the 66 CanAm. That would make a great thread if anyone has the sources....

What an amazing thread and excellent pictures Jerry!! such great information!! i like the old Traco building pictures!! wasn't Al Bartz shop close to Traco when he went out on his own? i reckonise so many names, its great to put faces to the names!! and all before my time been born down here in kiwiland in 59!!

Hi Dale: I am glad you are enjoying hearing about Gary Knutson and Traco. Al Bartz worked for Traco in 1966 and then Al Bartz worked out of the small garage at his apartment in the Santa Monica area of Southern California. He also worked out of a small garage I had at my house. He then rented a small working garage in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles. He then moved into his building where he built his engines.

Hi Dale: I am glad you are enjoying hearing about Gary Knutson and Traco. Al Bartz at first worked out of the small garage at his apartment in the Santa Monica area of Southern California. He also worked out of a small garage I had at my house.

He then rented a small working garage in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles. He then moved into his building where he built his engines. George Follmer was Al Bartz's first customer who did really well.

I am in California now and will be home on Monday.

Jerry, you would also know Phil Henny!! i spoke with him at a Shelby Convention one year, he had just written his book and was doing a signing, it has the best info i've read anywhere on Al Bartz!! and i see you owned and raced Ol Yella 2 that Ernie has, Ernies just raced it at our NZ summer Historic events the last 2 years!! lots of USA driver/engine builder influence down here from the 60's/70's Jerry, hence my enquiry/interest, we need to get you down here sometime? LOL

I've also spent the last 30 years driving around California buying old muscle cars!! back over for the Somona Historis in June!! must get to Road America and other tracks back east sometime.

Dale: I am sure if you could make the Elkhart Lake event in July that you would enjoy it. I have been there for the last few years. I usually lend Ike Smith a hand with the cars he is helping run at that event.

Phil Henny was there a couple of years ago. As you have said he is preparing a book on Al Bartz. Phil has written a great book on Bob Bondurant and another on Carroll Shelby. Phil has lent this site some of his collection of pictures.

There is going to be a surprise guest at the Sonoma races in June. Amanda McLaren and her husband Steven Donnell are coming as McLaren is the honored mark.

Rick Knoop and Gary Knutson and Donn Vickrey and Vicki Knutson and Jerry EntinVicki Knutson and Gary Knutson and Donn Vickrey That is a King Cobra they are standing by.

This was the first Vintage Sportscar race that Vicki and Gary had ever attended. Gary was told by Frank Lance to look up Donn Vickrey who was driving his King Cobra and his Ford 350 GT at this event. Rick Knoop was visiting our crew and it turned out that he lives a few blocks from Vicki and Gary knutson. We had a great time all Sunday enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather and meeting new and old friends.

Vicki Knutson at her first Vintage Sportscar race.Jerry Entin and Ike Smith and Gary Knutson and Rick Knoop and David Pozzi her trusty pit crew.

Vicki and Gary Knutson had only been at their first Vintage race for 5 minutes when Cris Vandagriff of the HMSA put them in the Pace car to see the Course at Coronado. They had the Admiral of the base in another car behind them.

Vicki Knutson at her first Vintage Sportscar race.Jerry Entin and Ike Smith and Gary Knutson and Rick Knoop and David Pozzi her trusty pit crew.

Vicki and Gary Knutson had only been at their first Vintage race for 5 minutes when Cris Vandagriff of the HMSA put them in the Pace car to see the Course at Coronado. They had the Admiral of the base in another car behind them.

photo: Elana Scherr

Jerry,

Thank you for introducing me to Gary and Vicky! Really nice folks. It was also cool to be able to meet Gary after hearing stories about him from Frank Lance recently.

I hope the two of them make it to more vintage races in the future. It looked like they had a good time. It also must be really neat to see many of the old cars he worked on many years ago.

Rick Knoop and Gary Knutson and Donn Vickrey and Vicki Knutson and Jerry EntinVicki Knutson and Gary Knutson and Donn Vickrey That is a King Cobra they are standing by.

This was the first Vintage Sportscar race that Vicki and Gary had ever attended. Gary was told by Frank Lance to look up Donn Vickrey who was driving his King Cobra and his Ford GT 350 at this event. Rick knoop was visiting our crew and it turned out that he lives a few blocks from Vicki and Gary knutson. We had a great time all Sunday enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather and meeting new and old friends.

photos: Albert Wong

Here's a footnote to the story. Apparently Frank told Gary to ask me about my "world famous creeper", which Frank entrusted to me recently. I'll see if I can post a few pics shortly.

This comes from Gary Knutson: Here's the one I flew for 500 plus hours. It was a Hughes 269A, vintage 1960. I did a ground up restoration after I first bought it in 1980. My longest trips were down to Indy and over to Oshkosh. The rest were in the Detroit area. I did go over to Niles once. Great fun. Cruised about 60mph. I wish I still had it.

Gary Knutson and Teddy Mayer and George Begg push starting Denis HulmeThis is Gary believes at Goodwood getting ready for the 1968 CanAm season. Denis Hulme was the test driver. Car is McLaren Mk 8 with big block power.Gary Knutson checking air in tires while George Begg handles the refueling